An image of the suspect in a string of East Village burglaries.
Police are concerned that two disturbing “back to back” shootings in the East Village will result in retaliation from “unhappy” people who know the injured victims, the Ninth Precinct’s commanding officer revealed during a meeting with residents.
On Nov. 7, around 9pm, a 20-year-old man was shot in the wrist at a housing development on 255 East Third Street. Deputy Inspector Peter J. Venice noted last night that the perp remains at large “and we’re not sure of the motive. This is an ongoing investigation.”
Two days later, a 24-year-old man was shot once in the leg at the Jacob Riis Houses on East Sixth Street, Venice said. A suspect, 27-year-old Anthony Pumarejo, was arrested on November 12, a police spokesperson told Bedford + Bowery.
Despite the incidents — which Venice insisted were “definitely not related” — crime in the East Village has continued to decline across the board by about 7 percent this year, Venice said.
And some more good news: Police have arrested a suspected burglar whose purported M.O. in about 13 different incidents was to “climb up fire escapes” and gain entry to residential buildings through bedrooms, Venice explained.
“He was arrested coming out of a bedroom,” added the commanding officer, stirring chuckles from about 30 locals gathered for the meeting at the precinct’s East Fifth Street station house. “He was charged with three incidents and we’re working on gathering [information] on other incidents to pin on him.”